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After her sojourn in England, vivacious Francie Nelson strikes out on her own—but this time she's not reluctant to do it. Her goal? To become a famous artist. Unfortunately, after she unexpectedly ends up spending a year in Portugal, she is required to serve as companion to her ailing Aunt Lollie. Alas, the art lessons she so longed for must be set aside. Oh, but wait! Maybe there's hope. Not to be thwarted, the headstrong and impetuous Francie manages to go to an art school after all. And while she's developing her skills—and her Portuguese—she soaks up the seductive European culture and, oh yes, indulges in a bit of romance along the way. Views: 147
A thrilling tale of wartime espionage by the acclaimed Alistair MacLean.During World War II, Yugoslavian rebel forces struggle to resist the German occupation, even as a three-way civil war tears the nation apart. In the mist of this terrible confusion, three compatriots set out across their besieged country to relay the German battle plan and unmask a double agent. But where do their loyalties really lie? On this dangerous journey with dangerous companions, everyone's motives are uncertain—and no one is who he seems. Views: 146
This collection of literature attempts to compile many classics that have stood the test of time and offer them at a reduced, affordable price in an attractive volume so that everyone can enjoy them. Views: 146
For more than a quarter century, Philip Norman's internationally bestselling *Shout!* has been unchallenged as the definitive biography of the Beatles. Now, at last, Norman turns his formidable talent to the Beatle for whom belonging to the world's most beloved pop group was never enough. Drawing on pre-viously untapped sources, and with unprecedented access to all the major characters, here is the comprehensive and most revealing portrait of John Lennon that is ever likely to be published.
This masterly biography takes a fresh and penetrating look at every aspect of Lennon's much-chronicled life, including the songs that have turned him, posthumously, into a near–secular saint. In three years of research, Norman has turned up an extra-ordinary amount of new information about even the best-known episodes of Lennon folklore—his upbringing by his strict Aunt Mimi; his allegedly wasted school and student days; the evolution of his peerless creative partnership with Paul McCartney; his Beatle-busting love affair with a Japanese performance artist; his forays into painting and literature; his experiments with Transcendental Meditation, primal scream therapy, and drugs. The book's numerous key informants and interviewees include Sir Paul McCartney, Sir George Martin, Sean Lennon—whose moving reminiscence reveals his father as never before—and Yoko Ono, who speaks with sometimes shocking candor about the inner workings of her marriage to John.
Honest and unflinching, as John himself would wish, Norman gives us the whole man in all his endless contradictions—tough and cynical, hilariously funny but also naive, vulnerable and insecure—and reveals how the mother who gave him away as a toddler haunted his mind and his music for the rest of his days.
### From Bookmarks Magazine
Critics generally praised *John Lennon: The Life*, though they often seemed shocked at how much hate and violence could be found in one of the 20th century's most famous proponents of peace and love. Some were also taken aback by the book's length—over 800 pages for a figure who famously lived only to age 40. But most reviewers concluded that the bulk of this biography was appropriate, not only because Norman is the first author to investigate Lennon in such detail but because his sense for which details are interesting (a well-developed portrayal of the young Lennon's Liverpool) and which are not (Beatles ephemera) keeps the book moving at a steady pace. Copyright 2008 Bookmarks Publishing LLC
### Review
“[A] haunting, mammoth, terrific piece of work.” (New York Times Book Review )
“It’s this level of detail that makes Norman’s 822 pages such compulsive reading.” (Bloomberg News )
“[Norman] sharpens what we know about Lennon at just about every turn…devotees will relish the new information, while casual readers will find a familiar story told more truly than ever before.” (Rolling Stone )
“[Norman’s] definitive biography draws impressively on exclusive and extensive interviews with Yoko Ono and, for the first time on the record, their son Sean…densely detailed, intricately woven and elegantly told, John Lennon: The Life neither condemns nor condones, nor does it consecrate its subject. (USA Today )
“The bad news is that John Lennon: The Life is so rich and enveloping that it demands to be read…it’s a clear-eyed and compassionate study of a man...Grade: A-.” (Entertainment Weekly )
“Powerful and heartfelt.” (Washington Post Book World ) Views: 146
Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards was a 20th century American author who wrote dozens of books, including children's poetry. Her work even had an effect on the making of Sesame Street. Views: 145
From all over Europe, even from behind the Iron Curtain, gypsies make an annual pilgrimage to the shrine of their patron saint in Provence. But at this year's gathering, people are mysteriously dying. Intrepid sleuths Cecile Dubois and Neil Bowman join the caravan in order to uncover the truth behind the deaths, in the process revealing an international plot that the sinister Gaiuse Strome will stop at nothing to keep secret. Views: 145
New York Times bestselling author of The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende celebrates the pleasures of the sensual life in this rich, joyful and slyly humorous book, a combination of personal narrative and treasury of erotic lore. Under the aegis of the Goddess of Love, Isabel Allende uses her storytelling skills brilliantly in Aphrodite to evoke the delights of food and sex. After considerable research and study, she has become an authority on aphrodisiacs, which include everything from food and drink to stories and, of course, love. Readers will find here recipes from Allende's mother, poems, stories from ancient and foreign literatures, paintings, personal anecdotes, fascinating tidbits on the sensual art of foodand its effects on amorous performance, tips on how to attract your mate and revive flagging virility, passages on the effect of smell on libido, a history of alcoholic beverages, and much more. An ode to sensuality that is an irresistible... Views: 144
A tense and nerve-shattering classic from the highly acclaimed masster of action and suspense. A ROLLING FOR KNOX is how the journalists describe the Presidential motorcade as it enters San Francisco across the Golden Gate. Even the ever-watchful FBI believe it is impregnable ? as it has to be with the President and two Arab potentates aboard. But halfway across the bridge the unthinkable happens. Before the eyes of the world a master criminal pulls off the most spectacular kidnapping in modern times? Views: 143
#1 New York Times bestselling author Laurie Notaro isn't exactly a domestic goddess—unless that means she fully embraces her genetic hoarding predisposition, sneaks peeks at her husband's daily journal, or has made a list of the people she wants on her Apocalypse Survival team (her husband's not on it). Inspired by Victorian household manuals, Notaro chronicles her chronic misfortune in the domestic arts, including cooking, cleaning, and putting on Spanx while sweaty (which should technically qualify as an Olympic sport). Housebroken is a rollicking new collection of essays showcasing her irreverent wit and inability to feel shame. From defying nature in the quest to making her own Twinkies, to begging her new neighbors not to become urban livestock keepers, to teaching her eight-year-old nephew about hobos, Notaro recounts her best efforts—and hilarious failures—in keeping a household inches away from being condemned. After all, home wasn't built... Views: 142
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, is perhaps America\'s favorite author. A quick-witted humorist who wrote travelogues, letters, speeches, and most famously the novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), Twain was so successful that he became America\'s biggest celebrity by the end of the 19th century. Despite writing biting satires, he managed to befriend everyone from presidents to European royalty. Views: 141
A team of British special forces parachutes onto a mountainside in wartime Germany. Their mission: To rescue a captured American general from the Castle of the Eagle before the Nazi interrogators can force him to reveal secret D-Day plans. As team members start to perish along the way, the true purpose of the rescue turns out to be infinitely more complicated. Views: 141
